VH Design Co

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Have you ever been at an install and the wrong colour lamp arrives? Or your workroom makes a cushion with the wrong side of the fabric? We've all been there before, but Purchase Orders rule out 90% of problems you just don't need, or want!

Most suppliers won't accept orders without a proper Purchase Order created, so are you putting in the right information and covering all of your bases?

Purchase orders allow crystal clear communication between you and your supplier. You are confirming what you want to order, the qty, price, lead time, and delivery information. Adding images is an amazing reference tool that eliminates mistakes too.

PO's are your safety net, they protect you, your business, and your client. If something arrives that's wrong, I immediately go back to my purchase order to check I had the right information in there, and if I do, straight away the supplier is already fixing the issue at their cost. It makes it clear who is at fault.

After you send a purchase through, you will receive a supplier invoice and that's where you need to cross-check ALL information and make sure it's the same as your PO, that includes pricing! So many times we've been quoted one price, and then when it's time for invoicing, we receive a different price. Thanks to saving the originally quoted price, suppliers honor what they quoted and you don't lose hard-earned dollars.

In our industry, the designer is usually the first one blamed if an issue arises, so covering yourself where possible is so important!

If you want to know more about creating purchase orders and the documentation behind a successful design project, join our waitlist via the link in our bio to learn more about our next course opening!

When we had our design studio, we would lay out what felt like kilometers of fabrics and finishes for each area of a project with a large screen for digital presentations. Now that we work remotely and often present at clients' homes, we've had to be more resourceful in how we present. These are our tips for creating a seamless presentation:

#1 - Use a Tablet for your presentation, and bring a printed A3 copy so you can switch between both
#2 - Store all of your fabrics per room into white folders and label each room
#3 - Bulldog clip any fabric books and label for easy reference
#4 - Print out a copy of your interior specs/notes and put it on a clipboard as your guide
#5 - Always bring a set of plans and furniture layouts for easy reference
#6 - Have a copy of the original project photos on your tablet for reference
#7 - Bring water and snacks incase they forget to offer, you will need it!
#8 - Layout your fabric schemes a few days prior and take a photo of how you want to present it on the day (A huge help!!)
#9 - Wear something that's professional but comfortable, you will be leaning over and juggling lots at once, hello b**b slips!
#10 - Practice! We always do a trial run of the presentation, just to get it all into our heads and to make sure we didn't miss anything. It helps us perfect our pitch and the way we want to convey each area. The day before is perfect.

What are your go-to tips for a successful presentation?
Comment below!

A silver lining that comes from tragedy is Community, where we all come together to support each other and lend a helping hand. One thing the pandemic created was isolation from one another, and it's heartwarming to see everyone come together again, to do what we Australians do best, look after each other. So as the great Maya Angelou once said, try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud. May we all shine a little love and light on each other where we can and most of all, kindness.

Our heartfelt, sincerest thoughts are with one of our beautiful VH Design Co members Jo Donaldson who recently passed. We cannot begin to imagine the sadness this has brought to the Toowoomba community, her family, friends and the design industry. Jo was a force, and dared greatly. She will be greatly missed.

We are sending you all lots of love & strength, and hope you are safe and sound out there.
Much love, Jess & Judy

We are on working on some amazing projects at the moment, all completely different - from a new build, a renovation, a boutique hotel to a superyacht. We always stay true to our design style and ethos, but we can translate this into different types of projects.

One thing that doesn't change is our VH Design Process. Our complete 8-Step Process ensures we deliver on time, make a profit, and do an incredible job overall. We show up when it matters and stay on top of each project's key dates and milestones. Good design doesn't happen by chance, it takes work and effort to create the perfect end result, and of course, a great process and system to support our success makes it far more enjoyable, and stress-free.

If you are interested in the next opening of our Signature Program, the waitlist is now open. Hit the link in bio to register your details for Early Bird access and exclusive goodies x



Image Credit: House & Garden UK, Laura Jacksons East London Home

In the early days, I sounded like a broken record, we need a plan!! I would tell Jude. When we were drowning in client projects, working late nights, and chasing our tails, it felt overwhelming and exhausting, my creativity was utterly fried and I was constantly in fight-or-flight. For Jude, she was able to operate on-the-go, but it wasn't good for her either. These days we are equal in our need & want for a plan. We both thrive and love it. That old saying "I'm creative, I don't need a plan" is setting you up for failure. We all need direction and focus because without it we often end up right back where we started, or completely burnt out. I love saying, today let's be proactive and not reactive.

For years we've searched for a great way to map out our goals, only to be disappointed by the lacklustre options out there, we would end up just typing thoughts into a Word Doc and never looking at it again. We wanted to create something we could refer back to, and use weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Something empowering, beautiful, thought-provoking but also practical and results-driven. So we set about creating our own Goal Planner, and soon realised this was an amazing resource other creatives & interior designers would love as well.

Our 70-Page Goal Planner was designed to give you the inspiration and motivation you need to start thinking about your goals for the year, as well as the tools and resources to help you make it happen. It's the perfect mix of creativity and practicality. Best of all you can type right into it, the digital resource is interactive, so you can work on it anywhere, anytime. We also have weekly, monthly and quarterly templates that you can use as your meeting framework whether it's just for you or your team.

Plus: For the first time EVER we are offering a special Bundle price for the Goal Planner & Vision Board Kit. Valued at $148, you can purchase both for just $59. We want these incredible resources accessible for everyone, so this year we are honoring this price for a limited time only. We hope it's a game-changer for you like it's been for us xx

Does anybody else feel like January has been the longest month ever? Most of us are in full swing design mode already, taking on new projects and kicking off the year with a busy schedule. Most of us have intentions to do things differently this year - get more organised, attract new clients, streamline our processes, the list goes on.

Are you clear on what you want to improve this year, and are you taking action steps towards achieving this? Lofty goals will stay lofty, if you want to increase your profits, streamline your process and improve the way you run your business, consider making this the year you invest in resources, courses, and coaches to help you. It's hard to conquer our goals on our own, it's nice to have a pathway of support, and that is why we created VH Design Co.

We have some exciting things planned for VH Design Co this year, enrolment for our Signature Program will open later this quarter, we will be hosting workshops on how to quote and execute projects, plus later this week we are releasing our Goal Planner & Vision Board Kit for 2022 that promises to be your roadmap and guide for the year ahead. Stay tuned for more details!

Image Credit: Architectural Digest

Sketch Up has always been something I've wanted to master. Last year I went solo on a superyacht project, it's been a dream job to work on with a dream client. Whilst I was able to translate my vision through concepts and moodboards, I wanted to go that extra mile with a 3D walk-through, but like everything when you are busy, it's just not a priority and you make do without.

It's easy to be a victim in life, complaining about certain things or wanting something to be different. I am sure I've chewed my husband's ear off about my desire to master Sketch Up, so less talk more action, I signed up for a Sketch Up course over the holidays and have been working through a 12-week program.

The self-empowerment that comes from choosing to take action is something that builds your inner confidence, ignites that inner fire within you, and is an act of self-love.

When you take action on a goal that's been on your 'to-do' list, you realise it really wasn't that hard, and why haven't I done this sooner? That's not to say Sketch Up is easy, it's like going back in time learning about maths and geometry (yeeks!!), but it's totally worth it, and adding this to my toolkit for 2022 is very satisfying and exciting.

What's on your wish list, what's something you could conquer this year? Tell us in the comments below, we'd love to hear!

We are excited to announce Jess’s marriage to the love of her life Sean, here’s a few pics from the special day 😍 special mention to Milko who put on quite the show!

As a designer, you should always be looking forward at how you can grow and evolve your business. You need to move with the times, set big goals that scare you and follow those lightbulb ideas that come to you. That's how we've been able to grow our business and make big changes that felt in alignment with our core purpose.

A vision board is the perfect creative outlet that will help you become more intentional about what you really want and it will help you create a roadmap to get there.

I recently bought a corkboard from Officeworks, some timber pins, and printed off a heap of photos, quotes, affirmations, and inspiration pics for things I want in my life both professionally and personally. Things have already started coming up so quickly that are in alignment with my board, from business opportunities to simpler goals like a dress I wanted, that randomly came on sale.

We created a vision board specifically for interior designers, or any creative really who wants to take some time out of these chaotic times to dream, imagine and create their dream business and life.

You can buy ours here for $37 by using the link below, or click the link in our bio and client Shop. https://www.vhdesign.co/shop/vision-board-kit

If you are a member of the VHDC program, you can download your copy in the Members Area. Happy Vision Boarding! xx Jess & Judy

As a designer it's all about the details, particularly with cushions we love to add piping, contrast trim, fringing, plush feather inserts and layer designer fabrics to complete a look. Whilst it looks beautiful, there's a lot of work that goes into it behind the scenes.

It was probably the most surprising aspect when we were training new team members, they couldn't believe how much work went into making a single cushion! The devil is in the details and it truly makes the design.

In our program, we provide you our very own workroom templates and teach you how to create them for yourself. We also take you behind the scenes on how we quote cushions to help you understand every aspect from ordering, manufacture to ex*****on.

Here's a snippet of a recent bedroom project, complete with VH bespoke cushions 💫